


The Stronger The Hold

by horriblejimmy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Mermaids, Sea Monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 03:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10235150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horriblejimmy/pseuds/horriblejimmy
Summary: Deans a mermaid and Cas is a 'Sea-Helper', someone who saves marine life. Deans kingdom is challenged by an unknown sea-monster, kidnapping other mermaids. Dean gets Cas' help. Castiel has powers unknown to everyone but Gabriel, he can heal living things and with a lot of effort and energy, bring them back from the dead if they were recently deceased.I suck at these.





	

He didn't want this to turn out how it did, but life never turns out how you want it, does it? Your life twists and turns, and every time you think you know it's going to turn out, it spins you in circles again. Either for the best or for the worst, and you never know which until too late. 

Right now, I feel like I'm going to throw up because of this turn. It was so sharp, so blinding and now I don't know how to handle this. It was going so well. I met him, and my world tipped and I thought it was spinning for the better, but now I see I was wrong. 

As the water turns red, and his tears salt the sea, I was too late. The twists and turns made me fall on my back, knocking the air out of my lungs and into his. I just wished I could go back and save him. Save us. -

Cas' POV:

"Grab that rope, Joan, it's getting wet." My throat hurts from yelling at the young boy. It wasn't his fault, in fact it wasn't anybody's fault. It just wasn't my day. I know I shouldn't be taken my glum mood out on the guy, but here he is, clumsy as ever. "If the rope is wet, it will slip in our hands if we try and tie it. Remember, we need to be fas-"

"Fast, Diligent, and Helpful. You have told me that 13 times before, I get it. I just can't do 7 things at once Mr. Novak." I sigh, the kid's right. I watch his sloppy brown hair get pushed into his eyes, the greasy locks blocking his vision. He forgot to pull it back again and with a grunt I roll my eyes at the boy. Pulling the black band I keep on my wrist for times like these with the trainees, I pull it a bit, flinging it at Joan, hitting him in the temple. He yelps and grabs at the ponytail trying to keep it from falling onto the sopping deck. 

"Put it on." I grumble, turning and walking away. If only Gabe could be here to train the newbie, saving me from the irritation I feel. 

In the beginning I was thrilled that we were getting an intern, the more hands we have the easier the job is to execute. But with this fumbling boy, who doesn't even look like he wants to be here, it just makes the job even harder. He is inexperienced and talks back constantly. The guys' resume made him seem like a perfect fit, hard-working and organized, but it looks as if Joan is just not up for it. 

Picking up the flip phone with the antenna that I had in my pocket, I punch in Gabe's number, smashing my finger into each button with irritability. This brick of technology is my saviour, almost like my child. It's the only phone I knew of that could reach from the middle of the sea, in a storm, and still make a call. With how easy it was, and with my shallow knowledge of tech, I never got a personal phone. The line rings on the other end four times before I hear shuffling and a grunt.

"Gabriel's phone, who is it?" He asked, cooing into the receiver. Gabe's voice sounds tired, like he just woke up.

"I know you know it's me, Gabe." My voice comes out hoarser than I mean it, must be the salty air around me, the ocean being three steps from where I stand on deck. Who am I kidding, it's always hoarse and scratchy.

"Yeah, yeah, but I was hoping it wasn't. Having trouble with the new intern?" He asked as the phone buzzes. He has another call on the other line. "Just remember FDH!" He laughs and I want to hit him. 

"Trouble? Try walking through mud while doing a handstand. That's how bad it is." I look out the window to see Joan chatting up one of the woman crew, Beth. "And I have been repeating that over and over. Be Fast, Diligent, and Helpful. How that is even supposed to help baffles me. I hate it." Gabe created FDH for the newbies when we first started this, it's supposed to pump the crew up but it just makes me roll my eyes. 

'It's a slogan!' he said. 'Every successful business needs a slogan that we can pull people in with. Plus it's catchy!' 

"Hey, that's not nice Cas! It's cheerful, makes people happy and realize why we are here in the first place. To help the marine life." He truly sounded offended at first and I feel bad...slightly. It didn't last long though, as I continue to watch Joan grossly try and get Beth's number to no avail. 

"We don't need it! We have saved more marine life than any other Sea-Marine boat out there, we just need to remind the others of that and then we'll be fine. I don't even understand it." I hear him sigh on the other end and I felt like heaving a sigh of my own. He and I have this talk every once and a while and he always wins with 'We've already put it on the boat.' My poor boat. 

"The Sea-Helpers are the best out there because of our crew. We have got to keep them reminded of why we do this. Just...work with me Cas. He can't be that bad." I frown, rubbing the scruff on my face and thinking it over. I don't like it, but to keep Gabe happy...I'll have to stick through it. Even if Joan is going to need a lot of work and training. Countless hours that we don't have. 

"Why did you have to be called into the office at the most inconvenient of times." I didn't really ask, I just knew. Gabe was our handler. And by that, I mean he handles the big guys trying to shut us down, take our money or boat, and the charges. We get a lot of them, very often. He is kinda like our lawyer. Ok, a lot like our lawyer. 

It's not easy work saving the lives of thousands of animals. Sometimes it's just not...legal. 

Ever since the Sea-Helpers have been doing well, we have went after bigger...Ahem...fish than before. The New Found Kripters that were killing sharks only for their fins, the Marmadocks who were illegally catching an endangered species of fish, excreta. Those big names have been suing us for property damage (their sail boats), theft (shark fins, Atlantic Halibut), and invasion (it was one time, we needed to get on the boat to get it to rock). That's why we need Gabe. He's very good at his job. 

With him handling inside jobs and helping out new comers, I am more of an on-the-job worker while also coming up with the when, where, and how we are going to spook the bastards. As well as when we get to the killers, I take care of getting the animals away. Diving into the harsh sea and sending out whistles to evacuate them and cutting away any wiring. Sometimes throwing the endangered or cruelly killed animals back into their habitat. It very complicated actually. That job keeps me relatively busy, so I rarely have time to help out Gabe or train the new workers. I'm the planner. I once tried to teach a trainee how to dive, but he was unfortunately almost attacked by one and settled for above ground working. Gabriel says I just have a way with the 'beasts' but that is inaccurate because I don't think their beasts at all. 

Paired up with me is Balthazar. Balthazar helps with the how. He makes the gadgets and gizmos that help us with our...um property damage. We call him the Shotgun. Not because he uses a shotgun, but because he causes so much damage it's crazy how the Sea-Helpers are still in business with a man like him. He once made the entire roofing of a cabin collapse by jumping on it. He laughed the entire time and scared the living hell out of one of our workers. The worker left the next day.

Next, is Raphael, and he helps with the when. We call him Sea Spray. He knows when the waves will be at their peak and when the weather is going to get rocky. He once tried to get me to believe he had ESP, and could just sense these things. I believed him for only a second...maybe more than a second. Whenever theirs a storm coming he tells us, and if we are unfortunately caught in one, he knows the necessary precautions and how to get us the hell out of there. 

Then we have the One-Workers, aka Spear-Fish. They are the brothers Michael and Lucifer. They are literally the equivalent of an angel and a demon on your shoulder. They only come when we go out to sea, and they don't really help out much around the deck. Luci, the eldest likes to rock boats and use unconventional (ahem, caveman-like) weapons. He mostly likes rocks. Michael is the opposite, he deals with the guys. He's kind of scary, but a sweetheart outside work. I once watched him snap a guys arm like a toothpick. Impressive and gross. 

The rest of the staff are just boat keepers, keeping up with maintenance and such. They keep the boat from being raided by the opposing seamen. Vital to how we work things. 

"He's bad. But I will try. For you, I guess." I say, unhappy about it but willing to please my brother anyway I can. He helps us so much, it's the least I can do. I know as soon as I say those words, however, that I am going to regret it. 

"Oh, thank you! Cassie boy, you're totally going to regret this! Take a break from Joan, you deserve it. Go hangout with Luci!" He literally yells in my ear through the phone. I hold it back to make out what he was saying, static laces his words. Nodding my head some, but frowning when he mentioned Lucifer. 

"Gabe. What did he do now? What do I have to clean up?" I grumbled, face falling into dull neutral. I could literally feel my eye bags become bigger. Luci was literally named after Satan. Which is strangely accurate, you remember the rocks. I crossed my arms over my chest, my blue vest rubbing uncomfortably. 

"Oh nothing, just provoked someone important. I need you to watch him closely so he doesn't get out of hand again." Gabe didn't sugar coat it. He knew sugar coating it would never help and only make me angry with him. I mutter out an 'okay', knowing there was no use arguing because Gabe would always win.

We exchange a few more words, then a goodbye before we both hang up. I dust my chest off before walking toward the docks, toward Lucifer. 

-

Dean POV:

That was weird. That was very, very weird. What just happened? Did...what?! 

I was swimming, just swimming along, my fins flared and my eyes closed. The ocean waves cascading over me and lifting my body up from the floor. Peaceful in the moment, not waiting for anything or anyone. I was free and alone. I wasn't bothered by the little fish tickling my sides or the weeds glued to the sand running down my spine, wrapping around my waist but not attaching. I was just...drifting. 

That was when it happened! Black ink filled the area around me, washing into my gills and choking me. I immediately got into warrior position #2, pulling the little rock knife out of my tail strap and looking around. I couldn't see anything though, there was just blackness, I couldn't get away from it, the tentacles of ink wrapping around my tail and weighing down on me like coral. As I tried to swim away the weeds that were just drifting up and down my back latched on to my arm fins and neck, keeping me in place. I felt the sticky ink reach down my throat and take a hold of my lungs, constricting my breaths and gluing the walls of my tissues together. Eventually I just faded into the blackness of unconsciousness, or ink. 

I woke up not too long ago with a big inhale, feeling like my throat was raw, scratchy and my eyes dry from whatever that was. I felt horrible. Coming to the realization that I just passed out due to some unknown substance, I spun around to examine the situation. But, there was nothing to really examine. There was no more ink, no more weeds. Just a sandy ocean floor and waves crashing overhead. The small fish that where drifting beside me now were no where in sight. The ocean water around me felt clean and without harmful substances. The only difference...my tail. It caught my eye, the shimmering scales glistening with the light breaking through the waves. 

A pit formed in my stomach. I felt like I was going to vomit, the acid slowly rising from the pits of my belly and threatening to make an appearance. I swallowed, the saliva and water sliding down my throat painfully. This couldn't be happening. It's not real, it couldn't be. If it was...

I stare at the green tail, the emerald hue looked exactly like the color of seaweed. It was...beautiful. But, it's not the orange that it once was. 

How did this happen? How could my tail, which had been orange since my birth, just like my fathers, be green? They don't even share a similar color sequence. One is associated with blue. The other, red. 

How am I going to tell my father?

Orange tails, fins, and eyes were all characteristics of my family. My dad didn't take too kindly to Sammy, my brother's tail being red, but he got over it. Besides, red comes from orange! And my grandmothers tail was orange. But none of my families tails were green, I've never even heard of a green tail! I don't know how he will get over this one however. Don't forget that I have no clue how this happened. What was I supposed to say? 

I would have to think of that later, the ocean tides telling me it's way past curfew. The moon was shining bright on the top of the water now, casting shadows all around me. I quickly shake my head, glowing dirty blonde hair making a halo around my face as I start swimming toward home. 

-

I make it there soon enough, swimming with all my might with my...new tail, entering our family's cave. The orange gem shining on the rock, speckled. The stone seemed to stare back at me, reminding me of where it came from. It was a gift from the Huntress, our Queen and law maker. My father worked for her as a hunter, someone who would get rid of threats to the Kingdom of Willow. With jink rock guns and salt-rock boulders, anything that made it's way into our protective forest was eliminated. He was incredibly good at his job. Dad's job gave us our superior family name. 

My tail ached as I approach the front. The long, fast swim on the way back holding a grudge. I open the giant front doors to the Winchester Cave as quietly as I could. The water around them bubbled and I flinched, tensing my muscles and giving it another slight shove. Well, I should have said big as the resistance gave away. The heavy doors sprung open, hitting the cave wall beside them, a giant sound ricocheting around the room and ringing in my ears. 

"Dean?!" Came the gruff voice of my father in the other room, but I barely heard him as I was staring at my hands, scared. I always had to get help with those doors when I was a kid, they were far too heavy and I shouldn't have shoved hem that hard. My father would always open them for me, but with that light (heavy) push, they swung open like nothing. "Dean, what did you do?! Where were you?" 

I felt sick again, but this time not with shock, with fear. I was scare of what he will say, what he will do. I shift my eyes up, not in his direction, but around the room. I look to the left and my face stares back at me. A mirror. Except, it's not exactly my face.

My eyes were green. A deep emerald color. Just like my new tail. 

I watched my reflection move before I even knew what I wanted to do, my hand curling into a fist and my knuckles turning white. I watched as my arm swung out, my eyes remaining locked to my reflections eyes until the shards of glass cracked and flew out onto the floor. It didn't even hurt, the rusty glass cutting into my skin and red floating around. It didn't even take that much energy and I hadn't even known I did it until the last minute. And those facts scared me more. 

"Dean Winchester, what the hell happened to you?" He asked, more like yelled at me, his big handles clenching and tail doing rough shifts, causing the water around us to swirl and bubble. I don't think he was angry, I think it was more shock. 

"I don't know, I don't know! I was just swimming and this cloud formed and now I am like this! Trust me I don't know, I don't want this!" I am hysterical now. There are no tears, but my voice gets considerable gruffer and more frantic. "I don't even know what this is!" I gesture to the glistening green.

"You said a cloud? And it changed your tail, eyes, and fins?" His black eyebrows furrow, and his hand gestures get bigger. He's going to lose it pretty soon, I can feel it. I'm his eldest and this is out of the ordinary, this is not normal. 

We both don't say anything for a while, the room around us still and, although we are both standing here, vacant. The pictures on the wall look dusty and the little trinkets are in the wrong places. I'm itching to move, but I know if I do it wouldn't be good for me. I would do something I have no control over. I'm not even thinking right now, because I just went through a change that everyone will be able to see and I can't think until I'm able to deal with the onslaught of feelings that will come with it. 

Finally, in a whisper, I say "Dad?", as the deafening silence crawls under my skin and makes a home. He turns slowly to face me, and I see the carefully put on mask that he always wears. It's one that says he is crumbling, but he's still a father. He's panicking, thinking of everything that could be wrong with me. What the cloud was, the change was. 

"In the morning, we will quietly go to the doctors. He will tell us what this is. Until then you won't leave the cavern and you won't talk to anyone." He mumbles. "On the way, if anyone asks, we will tell them it's your mothers gene. Are you hurt anywhere else?" 

I shake my head, turning in a circle to show the unharmed scales of my tail and fins. I press my plump lips into a hard line and clap my arms down to my sides in a shrug. He nods his head in approval, giving me a closed lipped smile through the panic. I appreciate it but don't smile back, just look him in the eyes with my green one with terror. 

What if I contracted a disease swimming about? Am I going to die? My dad and I both know this isn't something that's normal, but how not normal is this? Will I have to be quarantined until I wither away and die. 

He looks like he wants to say more, but he just rolls his shoulders back and swims toward the doors of his office saying a quiet goodnight. I move too, going in the direction of the ramp that leads to my bedroom. Before I'm halfway down the hall, a mess of brown hair surfaces out of the room next to mine, a little voice asking "Dean?" 

I turn toward him, trying to put on a big smile for him but only managing a small one. The tall, but lanky frame of my kid brother half shielded by the door to his room. My own stupidity forgets about the problem at hand and my appearance, moving to shuffle the hair on his head, the locks floating in the water and drifting down slowly. 

His orange eyes lit up, turning as wide as the moon in the sky and following my hand to his head. As I drew it back, he eyed me from my head to my toe. "Dean." He whispered.

"Sammy, what are you doing up?" I ask, blinking at him. His red tail behind him twitches and I shoot right back to reality. Tail...  
His mouth opens to say something and I try to tell him I'm too tired, but he doesn't care and his voice cuts me off. 

"Your beautiful." 

I didn't know how to react, I couldn't bring myself to think. So my body acted without me telling it to, as I closed my arms over Sammy's small frame, burying my face into his hair. I didn't know what to say. 

"I don't know what this is Sam." I shakily say, closing my now green eyes and squeezing him tighter to my chest. His arms come up and circle around me as well. 

"I don't know either, so if your trying to ask me, I'm sorry but I'm clueless. I just know you look really pretty in green." This made my laugh, my nerd brother evoking some happiness out of me. 

"I thought you were smart." I jokingly say, letting go of him and lightly tapping his shoulder in a brotherly gesture. "Get to bed kid." 

"I am smart, and I'm not a kid Mr.Green." He grumbled, turning around and flapping his fin into his room again. 

"Mr. Green, how original Mr. Red. Nerd." I say before Sammy's door shuts. 

Nothing much really happens after that, having had too much excitement for the night, I just go into the dark room I've claimed as my own and collapsing on the bed, letting darkness overtake me for the second time today.


End file.
